After months and months of waiting, the wait finally ended. It was a battle that started with tragedy and ended with triumph as the Philadelphia Eagles escaped with a win in their season opener over the Jacksonville Jaguars by the final score of 34-17.
Despite what many thought would be a relative breeze for the Philadelphia Eagles, the first half proved the opposite. Quarterback Nick Foles managed not one, not two, but three first half turnovers resulting from two fumbles and an interception in the endzone. Foles finished the first half 12/24 with 139 yards and three turnovers.
The Eagles rushing and receiving cores both saw their shares of struggles as well. LeSean McCoy had a hard time hitting holes while Foles’s struggling play did not put Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper, and the rest of the Eagles receivers to much of an advantage.
The first half offensive struggles were only mirrored by the defense. Jaguars’ rookie wide receiver Allen Hurns pulled in his first two catches of his career and took them both into the endzone. The Jaguars continues to march down the field, landing in field goal range three more times, connecting on one of those attempts. Jaguars quarterback Chad Henne ended the half with a wildly unexpected two touchdowns.
Perhaps the only positive from the first half was the special teams play. Punter Donnie Jones put up a huge punt that pinned Jacksonville back at their own one yard-line. Tackle Brandon Bair was credited for getting a field goal block, keeping Jacksonville from doing any further damage.
After the dismal first half display, the offense woke up. On a fourth down conversion attempt, Foles handed off to Darren Sproles who took the ball 49 yards for the first Eagles touchdown of the game. On the very next possession, Foles connected with tight end Zach Ertz to keep their momentum going.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, Foles continued his hot streak, finding a wide open and forgotten Maclin for a quick 68-yard strike for a touchdown to give the Eagles their first lead of the game. Foles would finish the game 27/45 for 322 yards, two touchdowns, an interception, and two fumbles.
The Eagles defense also hit a resurgence, forcing two early second-half three and outs to give the Eagles a momentum shift. Jacksonville’s second half struggles were capped by the Eagles defense ability to get through the line and put pressure on Henne. Overall, the defense proved to be impressive on third down, leaving Jacksonville with just one conversion in their first 10 attempts. The defense later stopped a mid fourth quarter, fourth and inches conversion attempt which helped the Eagles extend their lead.
Newly-signed kicker Cody Parkey got the attempt to show why the Eagles made the right decision in keeping him over Alex Henery as he nailed a 51-yard field goal to tie the game early in the fourth quarter. Parkey’s late 28-yard field goal helped the Eagles escape week one with a victory.
To add to the defense’s resurgence, Trent Cole sacked and stripped Henne which led to Fletcher Cox scooping the ball and taking it in for a touchdown to seal the deal.
Next Monday night, the Eagles will head to Indianapolis to take on Andrew Luck and the Colts in what should be a match-up of two high-powered teams looking to make a statement for their hopes to play in February.
[Photo:Philadelphia Eagles]
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